The inquest in Mayo has been unsparing since Sunday afternoon.
As we reach the business end of what's been touted as the most open championship in years, the traditional twosome are coming to the fore again.
Watching the Dublin-Mayo game unfold from our perch in the corner of the Davin Stand sparked unpleasant memories of the 2019 semi-final.
At half-time, we were speculating about whether Brian Fenton, Paul Mannion, James McCarthy would be able to turn it on - in the second half, we got a fairly definitive answer.
It's been said Mayo pushed the self-destruct button - and to some extent that's true - but that results from the pressure and the ruthlessness of Dublin in those moments.
They put the foot on the throat and don't let up. When faced with that pressure, the wave of attacks coming at you, it can be difficult for players to think straight and then mistakes happen, which are quickly punished.
Before you know it, the game is over. I felt for the players, I have to say. You're in Croke Park, there's 20 minutes left to play out with no realistic hope of salvaging things.
The Hill are jeering you, the Dublin players are in your face. It's just an uncomfortable situation. You keep plugging away but deep down, you want the game to be over. It's not a pretty place to be.
For Mayo, the perennial failing of conceding preventable goals at crucial junctures reared its head again. It's cost us so often over the years.
In the first half, things are going really well, and then Dublin get a goal off a straightforward lump-ball from Davey Byrne. Colm Basquel turns and slips it home. The second goal results from Sam Callinan possibly trying to be too cute, rather than booting it out of play. Basquel palms it home - another palmed goal conceded - and the game is done.
On the flipside, we've been unable to find goals. Since 2012, we've only scored five goals in eleven games against Dublin, and one of those was a penalty.
"The Hill are jeering you, the Dublin players are in your face. It's just an uncomfortable situation"
Subbing Aidan O'Shea was a strange decision for me. Management will have had their reasons but the timing was wrong. The match was spiralling out of control for Mayo and Aidan is a hugely experienced and influential figure in the team. He had been effective in the first half as well, creating chances for Tommy Conroy and Ryan O'Donoghue.
The answer, at that stage, when Mayo were buckling under the Dublin surge, was to bring Aidan out to the middle for a period of time, to get his hands on possession and settle things down. That's leaving off the psychological impact of seeing Aidan leaving the pitch, the lift it gives the Dublin support on the Hill and whatnot.
In reality, there was only going to be one outcome at that stage. Whether the final scoreline would read 2-17 to 0-11 is another thing.
It's a disappointing end to what has been a funky old season. We never found a consistency in performance, after the league.
Outside of the win over Kerry in Killarney, it would be hard to say Mayo played well in any game in championship. Yes, we clambered past Galway in Salthill but they were hampered by injuries, it was a scrappy affair and we still nearly lost it.
The year wasn't without positives, particularly the emergence of players of David McBrien, Sam Callinan, Jack Coyne. Jordan Flynn was a standout performer on an individual level.
But overall, a patchy summer, losing three of six games. Yes, the league win was nice enough - but who remembers that now?
As regards Dublin and Kerry, none of the underwhelmed commentary about their early summer form is anyway relevant now. They took on two of the supposed contenders and beat them a combined 24 points.
Let me hog my portion of glory here and note that I tipped Dublin from the start of the year and that their lethargic performances could largely be put down to being bored.
I suspected from a long way out that they'd perk up come the All-Ireland series, particularly when Mayo rolled into town.
At the weekend, they were back to their 2010s and six-in-a-row form. For some of the veterans of the team, winning the All-Ireland this year could be their sweetest of all, given how they've been questioned over the past two seasons.
It was McCarthy that set the tone immediately in the second half, driving forward straight from the throw-in - eerily reminiscent of the 2020 final this time - to set up a score for Paul Mannion. His second half performance was as good as I've seen from him over the past decade or so and that's no small claim.
All told, it's quite a job picking out the performance of the weekend. Marginally, I'd give the nod to Dublin though Kerry were hardly any less impressive the evening before.
Like most observers I anticipated a tight game but Tyrone's mistake was to try to replicate the same gameplan which worked in 2021.
But Kerry are wise to that now and were waiting for them. Their defenders' workrate and intensity was off the charts and their turnover figures were fairly mindboggling. For all the talk of the Tyrone midfield, Diarmuid O'Connor destroyed them in a Man of the Match display. Seanie O'Shea is hitting top gear, rustling up 1-05.
And David Clifford was reputed to have had an off day! Still managed to play a central role in a goal for the ages.
While the narrative is set now that we're headed for another Dublin-Kerry final, it's dangerous to overlook the other two winners from the weekend.
Derry, in particular, have the weapons but they'll need a significant uptick in performance from Sunday because that game was appalling.
Cork slowed the game down, played it a leisurely tempo and Derry were frustrated for long periods. That being said, they'll revel going in as underdogs for the semi-final, with the media likely talking up the Dubs-Kerry decider.
Would I have tipped Monaghan to be in a semi-final at the start of the year? Absolutely not. Most of us tipped them to be relegated. They survived again and they've survived this far.
It's been a quite a season for a team who struggled to find a manager during the off-season. Vinny Corey got the best of himself as a player and he's maximising things in management. The boys there seem to love him.
I expect their fairytale will end the next day, though it's been an excellent first season.
Lastly, the game was marred again by another Hawk-Eye mishap, which are becoming far too common. We've had the surreal situation over Shane Walsh's point last year, the Data was also "unavailable" during a Dublin-Galway hurling match earlier this year.
Given the money that's being spent on the programme, the continued errors are not acceptable.
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